Work Text:
Damian and Nate had solved another case recently, that means it's time to celebrate! Want to know what's even better? Nate's boss (or Damian's father) surprisingly didn't give any extra work to any of them this time.
Damian invited Nate to ‘hang out’ that evening; he knew Nate couldn't refuse because he didn't have any excuses this time; Nate really wanted to just stay home and rest after all the work they had to do, yet he didn't want to upset Damian either.
Katia, his sister, said her friends were going to visit their apartment tonight, so he knew that every possibility of him being able to rest properly was completely erased from the universe the moment she told them to come over.
“You need to promise me that you and your friends will behave, okay?”
Nate asked with his low, nervous tone as always, hoping his sister would take him just a little bit seriously.
“Just go, I won't let them enter your room or something like that. I would never do that... I think.”
“Can you please take this seriously? I'm trusting you and I believe that you can be responsible, okay?”
Katia sighed and rolled her eyes with a smile, crossing her arms and laughing a little.
“I promise. I'm just messing with you, don't worry”
Even though her tone was NOT a trustful one, Nate felt a slight relief after hearing those words. He grabbed his phone to check the time; it reads '3:43PM'
“I'm going to be late...” Nate murmured, before looking in the mirror and fixing his hair and clothes. Why was he so anxious, anyway? He's been best friends with Damian since high school, it didn't make sense.
Nate shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. When he finally got ready, he stepped out of the door and waved at Katia.
“See you, Kate! I'll be back home at 9:00, is that okay?”
“Uh-hm, okay, bye”
The girl answered in a low tone, not really paying attention. A chuckle escaped from Nate's lips as he closed the door behind him and sighed.
4:01 PM
Damian:
Are you there yet? I'm trying to
convince my dad about something
I just left home actually
Damian:
Good
Also, what are you talking about?
I mean, maybe I can help
Damian:
Nothing important
I'll be there in a minute
K
...
Nate stared at his phone, smiling. He put his phone in his pocket as he started walking towards the stairs; Maybe it wasn't a bad idea after all... He still wanted to rest, though.
After what felt like at least 30 minutes, Nate finally arrived at the place Damian suggested; It wasn't too far from his apartment so he didn't bother to ask Damian to drive him there; He thought it would be too much.
It seemed like Damian wasn't there yet, maybe the talking with his father was really serious, huh... Nate felt a little guilty; What if it WAS something serious and instead of insisting on helping Damian he didn't try to do anything about it?
The only thing he can do now is sit on a bench near the trees and wait until Damian arrives.
Damian and his father didn't exactly have a good relationship and Nate knew that very well. Maybe it was something that Damian did? He's more of a rebellious person, after all…
Nate just sat there and thought about what could have happened between Damian and his father; Maybe it's nothing to worry about and he's freaking out over nothing; but if it's nothing serious why is he taking so long to show up? Damian is not one to be so-
“Oi, earth to Nate?”
The sound of Damian's voice snapped Nate out of his thoughts, making him jump from his seat slightly.
“Did I scare you? Sorry, I didn't mean that-”
A boy with a cap– Damian – was leaning against the bench from behind.
“My bad, I wasn't paying attention”
Nate chuckled awkwardly, his face almost red from embarrassment as Damian smirked and sat next to him. They kept silent just to enjoy the mood, since the weather was really calm— 'It's almost perfect', he thought. He still felt that something was different, though… His feelings were confused. It's not like he had a crush on his best friend! Right?
Those thoughts were flooding Nate's mind. Every time he looked at Damian's face, some weird, good feeling appeared in his heart and it bothered him so bad. Yet he didn't want to stop feeling those weird sensations. It would be bad if he falls in love with his boss’s son; but at the same time he can't deny his feelings for Damian.
He's been feeling this way for WEEKS now and it's eating him alive. Only if he could tell him that…
Nate sighed in frustration as both of his hands cupped his face, closing his eyes and hearing the ambience around them. Damian noticed his behavior and quickly tried to lighten up the mood like always.
“Why the long face? We are supposed to have fun, right?”
He paused before continuing
“What do you think about getting something to drink while we talk? Sounds good?”
Damian smiled at Nate as if trying to convince him to accept his offer.
Nate nodded, the two agreed that it was a good idea to stop by a cafe just to eat or drink something before they did anything. He got up from the bench, gesturing to Damian a sigh to follow him; the boy nodded and got up from his seat as well.
It didn't take long for them to arrive at the cafe, as they both knew where it was. Nate immediately ordered the coffee he always drinks when he's working (even though he's not working right now); As for Damian, he ordered a strawberry milkshake with sprinkles.
It was... Good. What more can he say? It's been a long time since he and Damian hung out casually, without anything about work or literally anything like that in general. The two of them talked about several topics before their drinks arrived.
“Would you sacrifice a walk in the park in exchange for something much better?”
Damian asked suddenly, Nate looked at him confused because of the weird choice of words.
“Uh... It depends, what is it?”
“It's a surprise, of course! The only thing I can say is that recently I found a hidden place near the trees. We can go there if you want”
Nate took a sip of his coffee before answering.
“I wouldn't mind getting out of the ordinary a little. It's been a while since we hung out anyway, I think it's a good idea”
Damian smiled in satisfaction, he looked happy to see that Nate shared the same thoughts as him.
“Okay, I'll take you there when we finish our drinks”
Nate nodded, even though he didn't really pay attention to the last part, he was too busy staring at Damian while he talked.
Chatting here, chatting there, everything comes and goes— Now, it was time for the two of them to start walking towards the place Damian spoke of. Damian paid for their drinks, even though Nate insisted on paying with his own money; he still wanted to return the favor another day.
After that, the afternoon was quite pleasant; the heat of the sun combined with the wind that made their short hair move a little created a comfortable environment between the two of them. The street was completely empty at the time and the only sound that could be heard besides Damian's voice was the sound of autumn leaves crunching under their feet.
Yet, Nate was so distracted by the way Damian smiled and laughed, that he didn't even notice they arrived at the place Damian mentioned earlier; an area with a small hill and a lake in front, the moon's light reflected and gave a comforting effect to the atmosphere; basically, something that looked like it came out of a movie.
Nate gasped in surprise; he had never seen such a beautiful place in his life before! How did Damian find this anyway? It almost looked like a dream. Damian took a step forward and sat down on the edge of the hill, looking back at Nate and tapping the spot beside him, as if telling his 'friend' to sit by his side.
And so he did.
“Wow, this is...”
“Beautiful?”
“... Yeah”
Damian laughed softly at Nate's reaction as the boy approached and sat beside him.
“I have to agree with you on this one...”
The silence after that was comforting in a way, the gentle cold breeze made Nate sleepy though. Damian lay down on the floor made of grass, his arms resting behind his neck as he looked up to the sky full of stars above them.
Nate smiled slightly and did the same, already feeling his body relaxing when he felt the soft grass on his head. Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion washed over him; It's almost like he was feeling tired all day but his body just remembered that now, how nice.
The stars were shining brightly in the dark night sky and the clouds danced with them, as if performing just to the both of them. Damian suddenly turned around to look at Nate's face, smiling.
The boy soon noticed, turning his head to meet the other's gaze.
“Hey, Nate...”
Nate responded with a low 'hm?', he didn't have the energy to elaborate an answer right now; his eyes were threatening to close at this point.
“Do you think we make a good team? I mean, just the two of us, as a duo”
“I don't think we would be able to solve the majority of the cases without the help of the others... But if you want to know what I think; the answer is yes”
“I mean as a duo outside of work, dummy”
An 'ohhh..' escaped from Nate's lips; it seemed the exhaustion was getting onto him; Damian just chuckled at the sight.
“Then yes! We are best friends, right?”
“... Right.”
Damian sighed, he sounded disappointed despite his smile seconds ago.
“What time is it?”
He asked quietly.
“It's almost 10:00”
Nate practically jumped from the ground— He should be home at 9:00, how could he forget?!
Damian got up right after, offering his hand to Nate, who was completely disoriented because of the fatigue he was feeling. Despite that, the boy grabbed the other's hand and got up on his feet, letting out a yawn.
When the two boys were about to start walking towards the exit of the place, Nate almost hit his head on a tree because he didn't see it in front of him.
“Nate? Are you okay?”
It was weird because Nate never felt so exhausted before, what was happening? Most of the time he stayed up because of work, it didn't make sense to him to feel so tired in a moment like that.
Nate didn't ask to be driven to the park, that means no car; the street is still empty and he really doesn't want to leave Nate alone here while he goes out to ask for help. Damian grabbed Nate's hand and guided him to one of the nearby trees, sitting beside him as he leaned against the tree trunk.
“Looks like all those weeks without sleep finally hit you, huh?”
No response
“I told you not to overwork yourself”
Nate's head leaned on his shoulder, he felt a shiver down his spine in return; it was funny because Damian himself was starting to feel tired too…
Nate starts to lean even more towards him and the next thing Damian knows is the feeling of having the boy of his dreams in his arms, breathing quietly, almost unconscious.
Oh god, he looks so pretty.
Without even realizing, his heart started to beat faster and faster, all because of this damn boy. His hand stroked the other boy's soft hair in a caring manner, almost like he's made of glass and every wrong movement would cause him to break or shatter.
“Goodnight, Nate”
No response again– the difference is that this time it looks like someone had finally fallen asleep. Damian smiled sweetly at Nate, pressing a kiss on his head and falling asleep right after.
He might ask Nate out tomorrow.
10:34
Katie ^_^:
Where are you??
You know what
Good luck on your date